A process for the production of printing plates by electroforming a composite of sheet metal and wire mesh
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202611018869.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2026-07-09
- Publication Date
- 2026-10-27
AI Technical Summary
[0002]伴随着丝印技术的发展，现有技术逐渐研发出通过电铸来制造金属印刷板，但是通过电铸来获得具有全开口的单层金属印刷板时，由于金属板材上设置有纹路、储墨槽、出浆槽、垫高层孔槽，导致在电铸的过程中需要经过多层电铸才能获得，进而导致电铸成本高昂，且由于一次电铸加工获得成品的过程中，对于电铸的加工精度很高，以出现金属印刷板的孔槽位置不对或加工失败，即导致整片金属印刷板报废，更进一步推动了电铸加工成品的制造成本；此外，电铸加工所获得纹路的过程相对耗时，导致整个生产的效率低下；为此，急需研发一种能够将电铸材料应用到丝网印刷中的加工工艺，从而再提高生产效率的同时，降低制作成本
[0006]采用本发明后，通过电铸工艺获得任意厚度的电铸金属片材，之后在S面的两次蚀刻工艺分别获得储墨槽、出浆槽，并通过在P面的蚀刻工艺获得垫高层孔槽，之后金属丝网通过热压成型复合于电铸金属片材的S面，最后通过除胶工序除去覆盖在储墨槽上表面的PI胶层，其使得浆料通过金属丝网的纹路快速均匀覆盖整个印刷区域，并且流入储墨槽后沿着出浆槽透过垫高层孔槽下落到基体表面，其将成品的金属卷材冲切获得设定形状的金属片材，之后将金属片材的P面和S面分别经过蚀刻工艺获得对应的储墨槽、出浆槽、垫高层孔槽，蚀刻工艺为成熟且经济适用的工艺，其显著降低了金属片材的加工制作成本，且由于金属丝网上有纹路，进而在制作金属印刷片材的过程中无需在电铸金属片材的S面通过蚀刻工艺获得纹路，在加工过程中，将储墨槽、出浆槽、垫高层孔槽均根据对应要丝印的形状进行预先设计即可，其可根据需求加工任意厚度片材，在降低材料成本的同时，提高生产效率，且综合降低制作成本，使得电铸材料应用到丝网印刷的商业领域。
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Figure CN122976182A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the technical field of screen printing, specifically to a processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheets and metal wire mesh. Background Technology
[0002] With the development of screen printing technology, existing technologies have gradually developed the ability to manufacture metal printing plates through electroforming. However, when obtaining a single-layer metal printing plate with full openings through electroforming, multiple electroforming processes are required due to the presence of textures, ink reservoirs, ink outlets, and padding layer slots on the metal sheet. This results in high electroforming costs. Furthermore, the high precision required for electroforming during the final product processing means that misalignment of the slots or processing failures can lead to the scrapping of the entire metal printing plate, further increasing manufacturing costs. In addition, the process of obtaining textures through electroforming is relatively time-consuming, resulting in low overall production efficiency. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a processing technology that can apply electroformed materials to screen printing, thereby improving production efficiency while reducing manufacturing costs. Summary of the Invention
[0003] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheets and metal wire mesh. This technology can process sheets of any thickness as required, reducing material costs while improving production efficiency and comprehensively reducing manufacturing costs, thus enabling the application of electroformed materials in the commercial field of screen printing.
[0004] A processing technology for forming a printing plate from electroformed metal sheets and metal wire mesh is characterized by comprising the following steps: S1 obtains electroformed metal sheets of a set size and thickness through an electroforming process; The S2 fully open metal sheet printing board is made by cleaning the electroformed metal sheet, and then obtaining the ink storage tank and ink outlet tank in sequence through etching process in the central printing area of the S side of the electroformed metal sheet. Then, the pad layer hole groove is obtained through etching process on the P side of the metal sheet. The S-side of the S3 electroformed metal sheet and the metal mesh are hot-pressed together with a PI adhesive layer. S4 adhesive removal is used to remove the PI adhesive layer between the S-side of the electroformed metal sheet and the metal mesh from the parts of the graphic that need to be printed. This removes the portion of the PI adhesive layer that is blocking the printing channel, making the printing channel smooth and reliable.
[0005] Its further features are: The thickness of the electroformed metal sheet is 0.002 mm to 0.4 mm; The electroformed metal sheet is made of metal materials suitable for precision etching, such as copper, foil, or nickel-cobalt alloy. When the thickness of the metal sheet is no greater than 0.02 mm, in step S2, after cleaning the metal sheet, a composite substrate film is required. The substrate film is used to prevent the metal sheet from being bent or scratched during the operation. The substrate film is shrunken relative to the size of the metal sheet, thereby reserving the composite attachment edge for the mesh. When the thickness of the metal sheet is no more than 0.02 mm, step S1 is to clean the electroformed metal sheet and then laminate a substrate film on the P side. Then, on the S side of the electroformed metal sheet, an ink storage tank and a slurry outlet tank are obtained sequentially through an etching process. After that, a padding layer clearance hole groove is formed on the substrate film through a laser process. Then, a padding layer hole groove is obtained on the P side of the electroformed metal sheet through an etching process via the padding layer clearance hole groove. In step S3, after the electroformed metal sheet and the metal mesh are laminated, the substrate film needs to be removed. In step S2, the ink storage tank and slurry outlet tank on the S side of the electroformed metal sheet are obtained by independent etching processes. Each etching process includes coating, photolithography, development, etching, cleaning and drying. In step S2, the padding high-level hole groove on the P side of the electroformed metal sheet is obtained by turning the metal sheet over and then etching it. The padding high-level hole groove is set to be expanded outward relative to both sides of the slurry outlet, so that there is a fluid channel between the slurry outlet and the substrate to be printed, so that the slurry can be accurately and reliably printed onto the substrate surface.
[0006] Using this invention, electroformed metal sheets of arbitrary thickness are obtained through electroforming. Then, two etching processes on the S-side create an ink reservoir and a paste outlet, respectively. An etching process on the P-side creates a padding layer with perforated grooves. A metal mesh is then hot-pressed and laminated to the S-side of the electroformed metal sheet. Finally, a desmearing process removes the PI adhesive layer covering the surface of the ink reservoir. This allows the paste to quickly and evenly cover the entire printing area through the texture of the metal mesh, flowing into the ink reservoir and then down the paste outlet through the padding layer perforated grooves onto the substrate surface. The finished metal roll is then punched to obtain a metal sheet of a predetermined shape. Finally, the P-side and S-side of the metal sheet are separated... Instead of obtaining the corresponding ink reservoir, slurry outlet, and padding layer slots through etching, the etching process is a mature and economical technology that significantly reduces the processing cost of metal sheets. Furthermore, since the metal screen has textures, it is not necessary to obtain the textures on the S-side of the electroformed metal sheet through etching during the production of metal printing sheets. During processing, the ink reservoir, slurry outlet, and padding layer slots can all be pre-designed according to the shape to be screen printed. It can process sheets of any thickness as needed, reducing material costs while improving production efficiency and comprehensively reducing manufacturing costs, thus enabling the application of electroformed materials in the commercial field of screen printing. Attached Figure Description
[0007] Figure 1This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the electroformed metal sheet of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the substrate film composite process in step S2 of a specific embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the printing plate of the present invention; The names corresponding to the serial numbers in the diagram are as follows: Electroformed metal sheet 10, ink storage tank 101, ink discharge tank 102, padding layer hole groove 103, metal wire mesh 20, PI adhesive layer 30, substrate film 40. Detailed Implementation
[0008] A processing technology for forming a printing plate from electroformed metal sheets and metal wire mesh is described below. Figures 1-3 It includes the following steps: S1 obtains an electroformed metal sheet 10 of a set size and thickness through an electroforming process; S2 Fully Open Electroformed Metal Sheet 10 Printing Board is made by cleaning the electroformed metal sheet 10, and then obtaining the ink storage tank 101 and the ink discharge tank 102 in sequence through etching process in the central printing area of the S side of the electroformed metal sheet 10. Then, the pad layer hole groove 103 is obtained on the P side of the electroformed metal sheet 10 through etching process. S3, Electroformed metal sheet 10 is superimposed with metal mesh 20. Metal mesh 20 is provided on the S side of electroformed metal sheet 10. Electroformed metal sheet 10 and metal mesh 20 are hot-pressed together by PI adhesive layer 30. S4 adhesive removal is used to remove the PI adhesive layer 30 located between the electroformed metal sheet 10 and the metal mesh from the parts of the graphic that need to be printed. This removes the portion of the PI adhesive layer 30 that is blocking the printing channel, making the printing channel smooth and reliable.
[0009] In specific implementation: the thickness of the electroformed metal sheet 10 is 0.002mm to 0.4mm; the shape of the electroformed metal sheet 10 is obtained by electroforming according to actual needs; The electroformed metal sheet 10 is made of metal materials suitable for precision etching, such as copper, nickel, or nickel-cobalt alloys. When the thickness of the electroformed metal sheet 10 is not greater than 0.02 mm, in step S1, after cleaning the electroformed metal sheet 10, a composite substrate film 40 is required. The substrate film 40 is used to prevent the electroformed metal sheet 10 from being bent or scratched during the operation. The substrate film 40 is shrunk in size relative to the electroformed metal sheet 10, thereby reserving the composite attachment edge for subsequent wire mesh stretching. When the thickness of the electroformed metal sheet 10 is not greater than 0.02 mm, step S1 is to clean the electroformed metal sheet 10 and then laminate a substrate film 40 on the P side. Then, on the S side of the electroformed metal sheet 10, an ink storage tank 101 and an ink discharge tank 102 are sequentially obtained through an etching process. After that, a padding layer clearance hole groove is formed on the substrate film 40. Then, on the P side of the electroformed metal sheet 10, a padding layer clearance hole groove 103 is obtained through an etching process via the padding layer clearance hole groove. In step S3, after the lamination is completed, the substrate film 40 needs to be removed.
[0010] In practice, the printed circuit board is used for printing photovoltaic cells, and the process includes the following steps: S1 obtains an electroformed metal sheet 10 of NiCo alloy with a thickness of 0.02 mm by electroforming. The electroformed metal sheet 10 is a square shape of 30cm*30cm. S2 fully open single-layer metal sheet printing plate fabrication; S201 cleaning uses a fully automatic tunnel cleaning machine to degrease and clean the surface of the metal sheet 10. The first cleaning uses a weak alkaline cleaning agent spraying method, the second cleaning uses pure water rinsing, the third process is to dry the metal sheet, and the fourth process is to collect the material. S202, a PET substrate film 50 is laminated onto the P side of the metal sheet 10. The substrate film 50 is applied at room temperature. The size of the substrate film 50 is 1.6-2cm smaller than that of the metal sheet to ensure that a mesh-coated surface is reserved at the outer edge of the metal sheet 10. S203, the ink storage tank 101 is processed by the first etching process; S2031, First coating: The coating material is precision photoresist. The coating is carried out by a fully automatic roller coating method. A precision photoresist with a thickness of 0.04mm is coated on the S side of the metal sheet through a tunnel coating and baking integrated machine. The coating speed is 0.4m / min and the baking temperature is 50℃. S2032, the first photolithography, uses LDI photolithography equipment with a precision of 0.001mm. The ink reservoir is photolithographically etched on the metal surface covered with photoresist. The width of the ink reservoir is 0.06mm-0.3mm. The photolithography of the ink reservoir is performed by expanding the pattern outward on one side. S2033, first development, the development adopts a fully automatic tunnel development line; the development sequence includes the first pure water rinse, the second developer rinse, the third pure water rinsing, and the fourth drying. S2034, first etching, ink reservoir depth etched 0.008-0.01mm; S2035, washing and drying, using a tunnel-type automatic washing machine for rinsing, drying temperature 45±5℃, and circulating air drying; S204, the second etching process produces slurry tank 102; S2041, Second Coating: The coating material is precision photoresist. The coating is carried out using a fully automatic roller coating method. A 0.04mm thick precision photoresist is coated on the S-side of the metal sheet using a tunnel coating and baking integrated machine. The coating speed is 0.4m / min and the baking temperature is 50℃. S2042, the second photolithography, uses LDI photolithography equipment with a precision of 0.001mm. The photoresist-covered ink reservoir is photolithographically etched with a paste-out groove width of 0.008-0.01mm. S2043, second development, the development adopts a fully automatic tunnel development line; the development sequence includes the first pure water rinse, the second developer rinse, the third pure water cleaning, and the fourth drying. S2044, second etching, slurry outlet depth 0.008-0.01mm, the bottom of the slurry outlet and the P surface are left with a distance L, L is 0.001-0.002mm; S2045, washing and drying, using a tunnel-type automatic washing machine for rinsing, drying temperature 45±5℃, and circulating air drying; S205, forming a pad layer clearance groove on the substrate film 50; S2051 flips the metal sheet 10 so that the substrate film 50 is arranged facing upwards; S2052, a padding layer clearance groove is obtained by processing on the substrate film 50 through a preset laser processing path. The laser power will not affect the metal sheet 10, and the padding layer clearance groove is set according to the shape of the padding layer clearance groove. In order to prevent shading and offset, the pattern of the padding layer clearance groove is expanded outward on one side. The specific processing laser parameters are shown in Table 1 and Table 2.
[0011] Table 1
[0012] Table 2 S2053, Cleaning: After laser cutting, gently wipe with an alcohol-moistened dust-free sponge to remove carbonized dust from the surface. After wiping, rinse with a tunnel-type fully automatic cleaning machine and dry. S206, the third etching process is used to process the high-layer hole groove 103 of the pad; S2061, Third coating: The coating material is precision photoresist. The coating is carried out by a fully automatic roller coating method. A precision photoresist with a thickness of 0.04mm is coated on the P-side substrate film of the metal sheet 10 through a tunnel coating and baking integrated machine. The coating speed is 0.4m / min and the baking temperature is 50℃. S2062, the third photolithography, uses LDI photolithography equipment with a precision of 0.001mm. Photolithography is performed on the substrate film surface covered with photoresist to form high-layer hole grooves. The high-layer hole grooves are set to be extended outward relative to the ink storage tank. S2063, third development, the development adopts a fully automatic tunnel development line; the development sequence includes the first pure water rinse, the second developer rinse, the third pure water rinsing, and the fourth drying. S2064, third etching, depth L of the pad layer hole groove, the pad layer hole groove penetrates the corresponding position of the slurry outlet groove 102. S2065, washing and drying, using a tunnel-type automatic washing machine for rinsing, drying temperature 45±5℃, and circulating air drying; S3, an electroformed metal sheet 10 is superimposed with a metal wire mesh 20. The S-side of the electroformed metal sheet 10 is provided with a metal wire mesh 20. The electroformed metal sheet 10 and the metal wire mesh 20 are hot-pressed together by a PI adhesive layer 30. S4 adhesive removal is used to remove the PI adhesive layer 30 located between the electroformed metal sheet 10 and the metal mesh from the parts of the graphic that need to be printed. This removes the portion of the PI adhesive layer 30 that is blocking the printing channel, making the printing channel smooth and reliable.
[0013] Adhesive removal is performed using a P-second ultraviolet laser. The laser parameters vary slightly depending on the thickness of the adhesive layer. Adhesive removal is carried out on the P-side of the metal sheet, i.e., the metal surface. To prevent omissions or misalignments, the removal area is extended 0.1mm outward from one side of the graphic. Afterward, cleaning is performed by gently wiping with a lint-free sponge dampened with alcohol to remove the carbonized dust from the surface. After wiping, a tunnel-type fully automatic cleaning machine is used for rinsing. The rinsing liquid is two passes of pure water at normal water pressure, followed by a drying process. After drying, the metal surface must be free of water stains, dirt, or other foreign matter. The laser parameters used for adhesive removal are shown in Table 3.
[0014]
[0015] Table 3 In a specific embodiment, the main component of the etching solution in each etching process is ferric chloride (FeCl3), and the additives include an anti-seepage corrosion inhibitor, a surfactant as a wetting agent, and a stabilizer to prevent sedimentation.
[0016] In the text, S side refers to the squeegee side surface, and P side refers to the printing substrate side surface.
[0017] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within the present invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.
[0018] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.
Claims
1. A processing technology for forming a printing plate from electroformed metal sheets and metal wire mesh, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: S1 obtains electroformed metal sheets of a set size and thickness through an electroforming process; The S2 fully open metal sheet printing board is made by cleaning the electroformed metal sheet, and then obtaining the ink storage tank and ink outlet tank in sequence through etching process in the central printing area of the S side of the electroformed metal sheet. Then, the pad layer hole groove is obtained through etching process on the P side of the metal sheet. The S-side of the S3 electroformed metal sheet and the metal mesh are hot-pressed together with a PI adhesive layer. S4 adhesive removal is a laser-based process used to remove the portion of the PI adhesive layer between the S-side of the electroformed metal sheet and the metal mesh that is obstructing the printing path, specifically for the areas within the graphic that require printing.
2. The processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheet and metal wire mesh according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the electroformed metal sheet is 0.002 mm to 0.4 mm.
3. The processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheet and metal wire mesh according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electroformed metal sheet is made of metal materials suitable for precision etching, such as copper, foil, or nickel-cobalt alloy.
4. The processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheet and metal wire mesh according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the thickness of the metal sheet is no more than 0.02 mm, in step S2, after cleaning the metal sheet, a composite substrate film is required. The substrate film is used to prevent the metal sheet from being bent or scratched during the operation. The substrate film is shrunken relative to the size of the metal sheet, thereby reserving the composite attachment edge for the mesh.
5. The processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheet and metal wire mesh according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the thickness of the metal sheet is no more than 0.02 mm, step S1 is to clean the electroformed metal sheet and then laminate a substrate film on the P side. Then, on the S side of the electroformed metal sheet, an ink storage tank and a slurry outlet tank are obtained sequentially through an etching process. After that, a padding layer clearance hole groove is formed on the substrate film through a laser process. Then, a padding layer hole groove is obtained on the P side of the electroformed metal sheet through an etching process via the padding layer clearance hole groove.
6. The processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheet and metal wire mesh according to claim 5, characterized in that: In step S3, after the electroformed metal sheet and the metal wire mesh are laminated, the substrate film needs to be removed.
7. The processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheet and metal wire mesh according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the ink storage tank and slurry outlet tank on the S side of the electroformed metal sheet are obtained by independent etching processes. Each etching process includes coating, photolithography, development, etching, cleaning and drying.
8. The processing technology for forming a printing plate by combining electroformed metal sheet and metal wire mesh according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step S2, the padding high-level hole groove on the P side of the electroformed metal sheet is obtained by turning the metal sheet over and then etching it. The padding high-level hole groove is set to be expanded outward relative to both sides of the slurry outlet, so that there is a fluid channel between the slurry outlet and the substrate to be printed, so that the slurry can be accurately and reliably printed onto the substrate surface.